It is known to provide devices such as electro-motors, electric fans or other machines with lubricators having a replaceable, refillable lubricant reservoir and a lubricant pump continuously supplying lubricant to the relevant parts of the device. Lubricators may further include control units driving the lubricant pump. It is desirable that the lubrication is switched off when the device is not operating in order to avoid waste and build-up of lubricant being pumped into the device while the latter is not operating.
The document GB 2463948 A discloses a lubricator and a controller for use in a vehicle, wherein the controller switches the lubricator off when the vehicle is stationary.
The document TW201319445 A1 discloses an oil/grease injection mechanism controlling its operation mode by vibration frequency detection and a method for controlling an operation mode of oil/grease injectors. The oil/grease injectors include a motor, an oil/grease pack, a delivery pipeline and a central processing unit. The central processing unit is electrically connected with a motor to control the operation of the motor to control whether the grease of the oil/grease pack is supplied to the lubrication element via the delivery pipeline. The vibration sensors are disposed in the oil/grease injectors or on the device being lubricated and are electrically connected to the central processing unit to sense the vibration frequency of the device being lubricated and to transmit a signal to the central processing unit. The central processing unit uses the amplitude value of the signal to detect an operating state of the device being lubricated.
Both TW201319445 A1 and GB 2463948 A require a continuous monitoring of the operating state of the device, which requires a continuous supply of energy and computational power.